Anna Maria Richards
As our world becomes increasingly mobile, you will meet more and more people that you did not know growing up. Instead of each town having their own local population that does not move for generations, nowadays the average American moves every four years, making the prospect of meeting new people guaranteed.
In many cases, some people would like to take precautions with new people. From new neighbors to online dating, this is where background checks come into play. Background checks allow you to know more about the person within the confines of legality in order for you to get a better feel for that person.
You can read about the best sites to do background check at The Columbian.
Knowing Your Neighbor
Say a new neighbor moves in next to you. He is from a city on the other side of the country. You barely know his name and had to ask several times before you memorized it. You could be excused if you did not feel ready to trust him. Nothing against him per se, but you just need to know more about him.
This is where a background check can come in handy. Using the services of a private investigator, you will be able to obtain publicly available information about a person without having to spend weeks investigating for yourself.
The background check is usually able bring up social media information that is made available to the public. Since many people, consciously or otherwise, make their social media accounts viewable to anyone, a background check will be able to obtain that information.
You will be able to see if your hobbies match up, where the person is from since they usually have that posted on their social media, as well as their favorite pop culture items such as movies TV shows and the like. All of this will help you better know your new next-door neighbor.
Online Dating Made Safe
The phenomenon of dating websites is becoming increasingly familiar to people, especially the younger generation. You meet someone online, you think the person might be a good match, and you finally decide to meet in person. But what if the person turns out to be completely different in real life? You might be in for quite a shock.
This is why some people opt for a background check prior to meeting someone for the first time. Online profiles can be extremely misleading. There have even been entire shows made centering around fake online profiles.
The online world can be very deceptive. Background checks help with that by looking up the information placed on the online profile and cross-referencing it with public records on order to confirm the validity of the information provided. In this era, one can never really be “too careful”.
If the information is valid, then you can go for your meetup without a worry. If the information does not match up, you might have a stalker or an attention seeker on your hand. Either way, background checks help clear the air and give you a peace of mind knowing that you now know what to do.
More Things You Should Do Before Your Date
There are some other things to consider doing before meeting someone for the first time. It is generally advised that you the person a phone call before the date. This is so you can confirm the date time but also so you can actually hear the person’s voice so as to not be completely in the dark.
A phone call can also put the two of you at ease so the two of you have a better feel for the other. You might talk about a few things just to have a basic idea of what the other person is about. Having said that, you should definitely save some of that conversation for the actual date.
For those of you who wish to be more cautious, you could also consider informing others of your date and where it will be. Some people do not like taking chances and as such will tell a few close friends of the date and the location so that in case anything happens, people know where to look.
This might seem a little excessive to some, but for those of us who have had prior unpleasant experiences, this is something that can definitely give you an ease of mind knowing that others who care about you know where you are supposed to be.
Just Remember to Be Yourself
Whether it is meeting a new neighbor for the first time or someone you are interested in, background checks can definitely shine some light on the situation and give many people a needed sense of reassurance.
Ultimately, human beings are social creatures. Most of us want to be around other people, care for others, and be cared for. All we need to do is to exercise a good degree of personal judgement, and let the wind take us on a journey.
